The big changes in the global fashion calendar that you need to know about

The fashion industry’s traditional format of ‘see now, buy six months later’ has been getting a lot of flak lately. A designer presents a new collection on the runway, and social media outlets get flooded with images, videos and close-up looks of their designs. The ‘it’ pieces and statement styles become instant sensations—but there’s one hitch. Consumers can’t get their hands on the merch until half a year later.

Another drawback: a six-month wait period allows fast fashion retailers to put out their own versions of the biggest trends on the shop floor before the brand itself.

But it’s not just the lag time that’s got designers questioning the current format. They’re also questioning the splitting of their menswear and womenswear collections into two separate fashion weeks, at separate times. Not only is it economically draining for the designers, but it means more time on the road for the world’s fashion media, who attend men’s, women’s and couture collection presentations through the year.

So it’s no wonder that industry insiders around the globe are revolting against the status quo. Vogue takes a walk through the changing fashion landscape.

1/14

Burberry

The British fashion house was the first to announce its shifting schedule back in February. In lieu of a separate menswear show, the brand will be showcasing its men’s and women’s collections together every September and February. Another change: all the pieces will be available for purchase online and in-store as soon as the show is over.

Image: InDigital

Burberry

“The changes we are making will allow us to build a closer connection between the experience that we create with our runway shows and the moment when people can physically explore the collections for themselves,” Christopher Bailey, chief creative and chief executive officer of Burberry, said in a statement.

Image: InDigital

Burberry

Image: InDigital

Tom Ford

Just a week before his scheduled A/W ’16 show in New York in February, Tom Ford announced plans to postpone the show until September, when he would present the collection alongside his menswear line, both of which will be available to purchase the same day as the show.

Image: Instagram.com/tomford

Tom Ford

“In a world that has become increasingly immediate, the current way of showing a collection four months before it is available to consumers is an antiquated idea and one that no longer makes sense,” Ford told WWD.

Image: Instagram.com/tomford

Tom Ford

Image: Instagram.com/tomford

Vetements

The cult indie label is also merging its men and women’s collections, presenting them together as one cohesive show from next year onwards. The big switch here is their timeline—instead of showing a collection six months in advance (showing autumn/winter in March, for example) they will present their collections in season. In January, they’ll show spring/summer ’17, with the pieces available for purchase in time for spring a month later. The same show-and-deliver timeline applies for autumn/winter as well—the collection will be shown in June.

Image: InDigital

Vetements

“Showing men’s and women’s at the same time connects us to real life,” Guram Gvasalia, Vetements CEO, told Vogue US. “Today, men wear womenswear and women dress in men’s clothes. Gender is not a given fact anymore; a person has the right to choose one. Times change. Splitting genders in two is against the natural flow of today’s reality. Apart from the philosophical point of view, in fact, it saves money and time for everyone, starting with brands to buyers and press.”

Image: InDigital

Vetements

Image: InDigital

Gucci

Gucci is the latest powerhouse to announce a shift in its show schedule. The label—which has been ignoring gender conventions ever since Alessandro Michele took the helm, by including male models in the womenswear shows and vice versa—plans to present its men’s and women’s collections together from 2017 onwards, but is sticking to the same period between presentation and delivery time, showing six months before the collection hits stores.

Image: InDigital

Gucci

“It seems only natural to me to present my men’s and women’s collections together,” said Michele. “It’s the way I see the world today. It will not necessarily be an easy path and will certainly present some challenges, but I believe it will give me the chance to move towards a different kind of approach to my story telling.”

Image: InDigital

Gucci

Image: InDigital

New York Fashion Week

The discourse about the incongruity between show-time and retail-time in New York reached boiling point last year, prompting the Council of Fashion Designers of America to step back and review the current format. To this end, they hired consultancy firm Boston Consulting Group to analyse and evaluate the industry’s changing demands and desires by speaking to 50 designers, insiders and professionals. The consensus? An overhaul is necessary, but expecting a panacea is far from realistic.

Image: Instagram.com/cfda

New York Fashion Week

“We knew the end would not have one giant a-ha moment,” CFDA president and chief executive Steven Kolb told Business of Fashion. “Rather, the idea was to take the conversation that people have been having and amplify it into a bigger industry conversation.”